Patience, hard work and maybe a touch of eccentricity. Those seem to be the secrets to achieving a winning garden. This year's winners of the Baltimore Sun's annual garden contest showed they had all three. One planted 5-inch arborvitaes and waits patiently for them to grow into a privacy fence. Another lovingly tends to palm trees, keeping them warm in the winter with plastic sheeting and space heaters. And another fiercely wades into a pond frequented by water snakes. Nearly 100 gardeners from throughout the Baltimore area entered this year's contest. Their gardens ranged from several acres in the far suburbs to postage-stamp plots behind city row houses. Here are this year's winners. -- Liz Atwood, Special to The Baltimore Sun Also see: • Learn more about the winning gardens. •